10 Great Networking Tips from www.businesscoach.com

Dress appropriately for the meeting. You don’t want to stand out in the wrong way. In fact, consider calling the organizer of the meeting to verify what attire will be appropriate.

Be prepared. That means always having your business cards.

Make eye contact. It’s a simple thing, but it’s still where everything starts.

Offer a firm handshake. The second thing they’ll remember about you.

Introduce yourself and give a description of what you do. Keep it brief-no longer than 30 seconds. Refer to our handout on How to Write Your Own 30 Second Commercial.

Be curious about others. How? Train yourself to ask open ended questions about them.

Make notes about your conversation on the back of the contact’s business card so you can follow up. By doing this, you’re paying them a subtle visual compliment.

Have an objective. Your goal is always to make friends and to discover other’s business needs.

Have fun! A lot of networking experiences will depend on your perspective. Teach yourself that you’re not there for your business benefit, but for that of others. The pressure will fall away, and the profit to you will soon follow.

Master Tip: Follow up. Following up on contacts that you make via networking is essential to your networking success. Follow up with an e-mail, a phone call or a note in the mail with a business card to all of your new contacts.